Chevalier

Sequel to Romanus Fireman Mason James thought finding out he is a Romanus—a rare class of gargoyle—would be the surprise of a lifetime, but he’s proven wrong when he discovers he is the son of a comte and goji nobility. But his newly discovered family doesn’t think his gargoyle lover, Luc, is good enough for a goji of Mason’s stature—how could a warrior ever be? But despite the Moreaus’ uncertainty and elitism, they are Mason’s only chance to unravel the mystery behind his mother’s death, find a solution for the class divide that might separate him from Luc, and discover what it truly means to be a Romanus.

Chapter One

IT WAS a cold and surprisingly wet instead of snowy January night that left the asphalt covered by a slick sheen of ice. It made keeping the wide ass of the tiller truck where it belonged near impossible at high speed. We were lucky to get to the scene in one piece.

Even though we weren’t battling a fire, the captain still required us to suit up. He didn’t want us to get cut up by branches, so it was pants and jackets, helmets, and even face guards. It made sense with what we were doing. What didn’t make sense was us being there to begin with.

I think the people who reported the whereabouts of the body called us instead of the cops because between the two, police or fire, we had the ladder to get up to the body. It was the whole kitten stuck in a tree thing. Firemen got pets down from trees, so a corpse qualified as well. All I knew was it was a gory mess I could have gone my whole life without seeing.

By all accounts, the man had been hang gliding when his equipment failed and he crashed. All of his limbs were broken and twisted at some grotesque angle, impaled by the branches, which in a fall from considerable height had become wooden harpoons into soft flesh. It wasn’t the gore but the sight of the poor bastard’s neck twisted around 180 degrees that made me grateful I’d skipped dinner.

“Jesus, Ty, be careful,” I growled at the guy to the left of me on the platform when he bumped me again, the second time even harder than the first. If I hadn’t kept my balance, he would have knocked me right off the hydraulic lift hovering more…